Saturday, December 30, 2006

It has been a most excellent holiday so far! By now i have probabaly seen every wild animal Australia has to offer either in the wild, on the golf course, in sanctuaries or national parks. Tomorrow I'll fly to Sydney to watch the fireworks and be among the first people to celebrate the New Year.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Just landed upon a small internet cafe to share the first couple images from Australia. Writing this feels like I am the first man on the moon reporting back to the world. Still overly jetlagged but enjoying the trip thoroughly. A couple shots:

Friday, December 22, 2006

So I was fat up with Madrid and went to a beautiful beach somewhere far away.. good thing to do, because since I grew my beard and moustache I've met plenty of friends. Especially other bearded friends. I love my new look and I'm looking forward for big success in this beach near the U. S. and A.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Just arrived into Singapore after a 11.5hr flight from Amsterdam! Fortunately I slept most of the way, so I did not have to annoy myself with the farting lady sitting behind me. Not necessary the smelling types of farts, the loud ones; no shame at all. Time to rehydrate and wait for the last leg to Melbourne!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Christmas has always been a special time; cold weather, rain not snow, thousands of needles from the drying Christmas tree on the floor, and dark evenings wishing you were somewhere else. Yes, those creepy feelings started back in August, hence, this time around, I booked a trip Australia. In other words, I'll try to update this blog while on holidays, but an exquisit photo post will follow upon return. And finally, to the loyal readers; merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

In other remarkable news; the courts of The Hague today granted permission to a 10 year old in the Hague to keep his pony in his backyard. The boy had purchased his new friend off marktplaats.nl (the Dutch verison of eBay) for the incredible price of 100 euros; "an impulse buy" as he was quoted saying. Neighbors started complaining about increased mice and flies activity in the area and eventually sued the family for animal cruelty, since the pony's 'home' consisted of a backyard measuring a mere 12 by 12 meters.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

My best friend during the last 4 months and 23.000 km will be returned to its dealer on Tuesday. A new year and a new car! I'll miss you and treasure the many accidents we have seen, rain storms we have traversed and countries we have visited. Finally I have room to drive my Bentley.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

I am not sure if you can call it a reunion, just six months after graduation, but sounded as a nice way to describe this weekend in London. Sixty plus people of the 2006 IESE vintage got together in the City for a nice meal and drinks, but above all to catch up!

Six months ago, the regular IESE foosball games at the Oveilla Negra in Barcelona ceized to exist. Instead, nights are currently organized globally to reunite the legendary players; the first edition was organized by Dany in London. Sporting a 23-2 record for the evening, Christoph and Floris proved they still own this game. The next edition will be organized this Spring in either Copenhagen or Amsterdam.

Friday, December 08, 2006

And its off to London this weekend to attend an IESE Christmas dinner/be reunited with the IESE class of 2006/be reunited with the IESE foosball team. Yup, much to do in the "just" 29 hours i'll be in the City. Of course, pictures will follow on Monday.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Happy Sinter Klaas; a holiday tradition in the Netherlands and Belgium , celebrated every year on Saint Nicholas' eve December 5 or, in Belgium, the morning of December 6. The feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children.

To get in the mood, our company invited Zwarte Piet to bake "poffertjes" for us in the parking lot. Still not sure why he was not invited inside... Nonetheless, record warmth in Holland, 16 C today, so no one minded standing outside to eat the treats.

Finally my turn to eat!

Read more about this weird Dutch tradition here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Sunday, December 03, 2006

"The famed tolerance of the Dutch has reached its limits in Amsterdam after city authorities announced the closure of almost one third of the windows from which prostitutes ply their trade in the city's famous red-light district." Not a bad headline from "The Independent" newspaper and probably the most 'exciting' news coming from Amsterdam this week. In other words, if you ever had plans on visiting the city, you better book your flight before the end of the year; unless you into tulips, cheese, Rembrandt or weed as well.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Today I became part of Dutch history! I was one of the many people stuck in traffic while Holland celebrated 50 years of traffic jams. Today, with neary 450km of evening traffic jams, was nothing compared to the 650km of last Tuesday. The all time record is 950km somewhere during the winter of 1999. Imagin, Holland only has around 2200km asphalt designated as highway. I would like to thank my fellow drivers and the inventors of the FM radio and CD player to make my drive to work bearable.

Monday, November 27, 2006

After putting my sporty Golf through its paces on the Autobahn this weekend, I realized that driving the 130km/h speedlimit in Germany is actually dangerous. I at least need a car capable of a comfrtable 220km/h to keep up with traffic. Aside from the car issue; the weekend was spend with friend/colleague/A6 team mate Holger in Hamburg. A short picture impression:

Saturday night German bar games: building beer bottle castles

In good German tradition; shots of Jagermeister

After a night of drinking; Holger killing imaginary bugs behind the radiator

Friday, November 24, 2006

Legendary lyrics taken from the magical evening exactly one year ago. No songs, skits, or imfamous playback sessions this Thanksgivig evening, but Jubs and his sister providing hungry ex-IESE-ians with a truly "home cooked" turkey dinner.

The maistro himself putting the finishing touches on the organic, free-range, 5 kilo turkey.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

This morning, shortly after 8am, an nuclear explosion rocked the quiet, sleepy town of Amersfoort. None of its citizens survived the blast, which registered 8.1 on the scale of Richter. A tsunami warning has been issued for all the isles of Great Britain. To the surprise of many of the EU members, Holland does posess nuclear weapons. A reason for detonation has not been issued, but it's spectacular Parliament election might have something to do with it.

Where were you during the Florida recount? Better yet; where were you during the 2006 Dutch Parliament elections? Probably close to 81% will answer they defeated heavy rain and wind to get out to vote. Others, like me will tell you that i sat in a comfortable chair with a big plate full of bitterballen [example] next to me and plenty of beers while i watched election night unfold on the mega screen infront of me. Casting the decisive vote last night took much energy out of me; i needed some comfort around me.